Franz Wild wrote about an app developed in South Africa to identify a potential mate’s “Lobola” –the gift that a man’s family offers a woman’s family in exchange for the woman’s hand in marriage, traditionally paid in cattle:

3 thoughts on “An App To Figure Out How Many Cows Your Future Wife Is Worth”

I know this is intended to be light-hearted but this app is the use of technology to perpetuate objectification and commodification of women. A woman in Lesotho is worth 12 cows, and a woman in Northern Cape is only worth 5? How about they’re human beings who don’t need pricing like they’re a new car or an investment product?

It was something we hesitated about, especially for something developed in South Africa, a country that has in the past been called “The Rape Capital of the World” [1]

We ultimately decided to run with the story, however, because our mission is to see some of the odd, quirky sides of economics. It’s fascinating to think that the value of a life partner can somehow be calculated, and in cows at that – however awful the implication of that really is.

I had this exact conversation with a friend of mine, and eventually concluded that, while likely intended as a joke, and perhaps offensive to some, it was a fascinating look at the ‘quirkier side of economice’-and therefore a win for Centives! Keep it up!